List Your Land Care Services Business on Our Website
Following the publication of the Woodland Health Practices Handbook and Assessment Checklist in 2020, and the Natural Area Management Services webinar series from Fall 2020 through Spring 2022, the Woodland Stewardship Education program is providing businesses an opportunity to become listed on our website. Our “Natural Area Management Services Providers Directory” is for businesses in Maryland and the neighboring states that provide land care services such as controlling invasive plant species, planting and/or maintaining riparian buffers, small woodlot tree harvesting, and much more.
The online directory will enable customers to search for providers based on a dozen different land care practices. To have your business listed, please visit https://go.umd.edu/GSP-directory and complete the form found at the “Submission Form” button. Each submission will be reviewed before being included in the directory.
Woodland & Wildlife Wednesdays!
The Woodland Stewardship Education program recently announced its lineup of Woodland & Wildlife Webinars for the second half of 2022.
June 15th: Deb Landau, Director of Ecology Management for the MD/DC Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, will present “Fire History and Ecology in Maryland”
July 20th: Bud Reeves of the Anne Arundel Weed Warriors, will share “Weed Warriors—Invasive woodland plants and control methods”
August 17th: Agnes Kedmenecz, UME Forest Stewardship Educator, will provide an “Introduction to Sustainable Forestry”
September 21st: Join Dr. Craig Harper, Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist at the University of Tennessee, for “Forest Stand Improvement for Wildlife”
October 19th: Shannon P. Browne, Certified Wildlife Biologist, Lecturer and Advisor at University of Maryland, presents “Ecology of Maryland’s Cave Bats”
November 16th: Heather Disque, Maryland Department of Agriculture Forest Service, shares her views of “Forest Health—Pests and Diseases”
Each webinar is free but registration is required. For more information and to register, go to
go.umd.edu/woodlandwildlife
Bringing Back Fire to Restore Eastern Habitats
Scientists, landowners, and others are starting to advocate for the increased use of fire, called “controlled burns,” as a way to help restore vital ecosystems and aid plant species that require fire for regeneration or that thrive in open spaces that are becoming increasingly rare in woodlands. Writer Gabriel Popkin visited eastern Maryland to see how it can be accomplished. Read the piece in Yale Environment 360.
“Who Wouldn’t Want to Work With Trees?”
A recent post by Hannah Wagner on the National Association of State Foresters website highlights the continuing diversity in the field of forestry. The piece outlines the growth of women in state agencies across the nation, where 13 out of 59 are currently led by women. The piece interviews five state foresters, including Maryland Acting State Forester Anne Hairston-Strang, about how they became interested in forestry, who motivates them, what advice they’d give to a woman interested in a forestry career, and more.
Read the full post on the National Association of State Foresters’ website here.
Branching Out, Vol. 30, no. 2 (Spring 2022)
Branching Out is the free, quarterly newsletter of the Woodland Stewardship Education program. For more than 25 years, Branching Out has kept Maryland woodland owners and managers informed about ways to develop and enhance their natural areas, how to identify and control invasive plants and insects, and about news and regional online and in-person events.